OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Restoring, Customising and Modifying Tech Talk Viewing Faded Engine numbers

Hi all,
I was recently working on some MTD mowers and had a devil of a time finding info as the numbers under the seat had faded to nothing. Eventually I was able to bring them to life by using a ultraviolet light in the dark . i have an invisible ink reader which is a mini black light, but any black light torch will do. Hope it is of some use.

Hi rollo,
good that you found this method. I'd like to know the science behind it.

Pretty straight forward,when the number is printed on the silver label some of the black paint is absorbed into the label. The number is only a different shade of silver on the label and the ultraviolet light shows the difference between the two shades and you can make out the number in the dark. You need to record it somewhere else for future reference. I would not try rewriting the number on the label as you may lose the ability to see the difference with the light. As you know, with the MTD site, the number is the holy grail for finding info on obscure ride ons.

Wouldn't have thought that would work. Good on you for experimenting. Is it easy to get one of these black lights? The ones I've seen have a small fluorescent like tube on a wand.

I bought the one I have was bought ages ago from a local discount store. Its now on Ebay for $25, However if you look at this item number on Ebay there is one for $5.00 that hopefully does the job. Search item number 134313745545.